Settling Down For A While
by OthelloFurtherOutburst
Summary: Ash is relaxing in Sinnoh after so many adventures and can't decide if he's ready for another. Ursula goes out more often now, but she doesn't always enjoy herself. Ash encounters Ursula after some training and the two go to a dance that is being hosted at Hearthome City's new community center. What will happen between the two and how will it affect Ash's decision? *RE-WRITTEN*


**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or anything affiliated with it. I make no money from this fic and it was written only for fun and enjoyment, so please don't sue or send Arceus to kidnap me!**

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**(A/N) Hey everyone. Some of you may have seen my one-shot "Letting Loose". If you have, forget about it. It was an overdone piece that was written on impulse. This is a fresh attempt and I'm confident you'll like this one (I know I did), so please give it a try and tell me what you think.**

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Located in the Hearthome City Pokemon center, Ash Ketchum, now 15 years of age had gotten a room. He was taking a vacation by himself in Sinnoh after returning from one of his many Pokemon adventures. At this time, he was deciding what he wanted to do next with his life. Although he loved his Pokemon journeys, he wasn't so sure if he immediately wanted to just jump into another one.

He had made many friends during his travels, human and Pokemon alike. He was older now though, and he was beginning to think that something was missing from his life. Although he didn't think he would excel as a Pokemon coordinator, he did have a lot of fun watching contests, thus he decided Sinnoh would be where he took his time off. Perhaps he would run into Zoey or even figure out why he was feeling somewhat empty.

His Pidove-shaped alarm clock rang at 7:00am, signaling his time to wake up. After 30 more minutes, and being zapped by his Pikachu's Thunderbolt, he proceeded downstairs to get a nice breakfast. After eating, which only took a couple of minutes, he proceeded to the garbage can. As he was doing so, the television screen turned on showing the Sinnoh Contest announcer Marian.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, don't forget that today at 11:00am is the final round of this year's Pokemon Contest. The winner of this round will receive the beautiful and prestigious Hearthome Ribbon!" Marian announced excitedly.

Upon hearing this, Ash began thinking about his Sinnoh adventure with Dawn. Dawn was still a coordinator, however she had left Sinnoh not long ago to compete in Hoenn region contests with May. Still, he had nothing he needed to do until the evening, so he decided to go see the contest.

* * *

Ash arrived at the stadium and took a seat in the front row. After Marian introduced herself and the judges, she called out the two coordinators who would be competing. Ash looked to Marian's left and saw the first coordinator, Kyle. Ash stared at him for a second with a scowl on his face and then looked at the other coordinator. Ash recognized the other coordinator quickly and he actually blushed at the sight of her. It was Dawn's former rival, Ursula! Having a grudge against Kyle for his win against him at the Wallace cup, Ash immediately began hoping that Ursula would win.

He wasn't aware though that he was in for quite a surprise.

After 4 of the 5 minutes went by, Ursula and Kyle only had one Pokemon left in play and they had equal points remaining. Ursula had her Vaporeon left and Kyle had his Lanturn still in play.

"All right Lanturn, use Ice Beam!" commanded Kyle.

Ursula scoffed at Kyle's command and was now feeling more confident than ever. "Vaporeon, fire at the Ice Beam by using Aqua Jet and spinning" she ordered with a smirk. Ash's eyes went wide with amazement. She was using Ice Aqua Jet!

Vaporeon did what it was told and by doing so, it became surrounded by the ice and looked like a mermaid-shaped ice sculpture. The stadium lights were also helping it sparkle. Vaporeon struck Lanturn head-on sending it flying into the stadium wall, knocking it out. Ash couldn't be more shocked.

"Kyle's Pokemon are now both unable to battle! That means the winner of the final stage is...Ursula!" Marian exclaimed. Ash couldn't contain his excitement.

"Yes! Yes! All right!" Ash jumped up and shouted, directing the attention of some of the audience as well as both Kyle and Ursula.

After a second, Ash stood still and noticed that Ursula, as well as some of the audience was now staring at him. Ash blushed deeply and slowly sat back down. Ursula stood still for a moment, staring at Ash in the audience with her face crimson as well. Kyle just sneered at Ash and walked off the stage.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Ursula began to take a walk over to a field where she would train. Over the last couple of years, she had been continuing with her coordinator endeavors. She managed to win the previous year's Grand Festival, but shortly after doing so, she, like Ash, began to feel like something was missing from her life. She had steadily become more interested in fashion and was going out more often for entertainment. She was popular at the parties, however she didn't always have much fun. She always went alone and it had bothered her at times, even if she never showed it.

While she was walking, she was thinking about Ash and how he got so excited after it was announced that she won the contest. She felt quite flattered actually. She had seen Ash in the audience before in contests, but that was usually when Dawn was competing.

Ursula cringed at the thought of Dawn. She was not only her former contest rival, but she got to travel about with someone. Someone, who when his name was mentioned, Ursula would feel fuzzy inside. She actually felt disappointed when she found out Ash had left Sinnoh. Even if no one else knew, she had a crush on Ash since she first met him. He was also the reason why she trained her Vaporeon to learn Ice Aqua Jet.

She was in for a surprise as well though when she arrived at her field of choice.

Upon arriving near her destination, she saw that it was taken. She was fuming at first, but after recognizing who was there, she felt uneasy. It was Ash! He was actually getting ready to head back to the Pokemon center after some training with his Buizel.

Ash recalled Buizel and turned around to leave, but he stopped short when he saw Ursula on the path. Ash immediately felt nervous and blushed slightly upon seeing her.

After a few seconds of silence, Ursula began walking slowly toward Ash. "H-hello Ash. Long time no see" she said.

"H-hey there, Ursula" Ash greeted awkwardly, prompting a small chuckle from her. "What have you been up to?"

"Oh, the usual. Wowing people with my brilliant, elegant coordinating skills" she replied with one hand on her hip.

"Still quite the confident one aren't you?" Ash commented.

"But of course. I always perform to the best of my ability, and last year, I managed to win the Grand Festival" Ursula announced proudly.

"Wow, that's quite an accomplishment. Congratulations!" complimented Ash. Ursula felt flattered again, and surprised after hearing him say that.

"Oh, well…it's not _that_ big of a deal" she said slightly embarrassed.

"Are you kidding? Top Coordinator is so a big deal" insisted Ash.

"Well, I guess it is" Ursula agreed.

A few more seconds went by before Ash spoke again. "So Ursula, what do you think you might do for the rest of the day?"

"Well, after some training, I need to go get ready for a dance that is being hosted at Hearthome City's new community center. I'm going to be the life of the party, like always" she answered, her pride returning once more.

"I was actually thinking about going to that dance too" replied Ash.

"You were?" Ursula asked, slightly confused.

"Heck yeah! I'm on vacation from my adventures right now and going to a party would be a great way for me to enjoy myself. Not to mention the great food I can load up on" Ash explained excitedly.

Ursula couldn't help but laugh a little at Ash's enthusiasm. "Sounds like somebody has quite the stomach" she joked.

The two stood in silence for a few more seconds before Ash's cell phone reminder went off. "Whoops, I guess I'd better be going" he said.

"I guess you'd better. See you around"

Ursula began walking toward the field to train, but Ash was standing still watching her walk away. He knew her and Dawn used to be rivals, but Dawn had now moved to Hoenn for a while and Ursula seemed relatively nice when she was talking to him. Not to mention he was also feeling a bit fuzzy inside when he was talking to her. He actually developed some kind of feeling for her not long after he first met her. After a few more seconds, Ash ran back toward her.

"Hey Ursula!" Ash called out.

Ursula turned back toward Ash with curiosity. "Huh? What's up Ash?" she asked.

"Hey um, I was wondering…" Ash hesitated. "I was wondering, would you like…to go to the dance…with me?"

Ursula was silent for a minute and she and Ash were both blushing slightly. She wasn't sure how to reply at first, but after a few seconds, a smile formed on her face.

"Sure. That'd be cool. Meet me there at 7:30" she finally answered.

"Awesome! I'll see you then" Ash said enthusiastically. And with that the two parted ways again.

* * *

Ash arrived at the community center at 7:30, but upon getting there, he did not see Ursula. He waited a few more minutes before finally, he saw Ursula running up to him and his heart skipped a beat. She looked very pretty. Ursula stopped for a moment to catch her breath.

"You're late my dear" Ash joked

"Hey! Being fashionably late is a rule. It took me so long to get ready!" Ursula whined. It did indeed take Ursula quite a while to get ready, finally deciding on a silky sky blue dress and her usual hairstyle, whereas Ash only took a shower and made his hair look nicer.

"Well anyway, shall we go in?" asked Ash.

"We shall" Ursula answered. With that, they walked inside and to the front desk.

"Welcome to the Hearthome City Community Center Dance. Tickets cost 12 Poke-dollars each" the host said. Ash froze upon hearing this. He had forgotten to bring money. Ursula took notice and laughed at the expression on Ash's face and paid for both tickets.

"Someone didn't do a great job preparing for their first night out!" Ursula teased.

"Oh look who's talking, Ms. I Had To Literally Sprint To Arrive On Time!" Ash retorted playfully.

"Hey! I told you it's a rule to be fashionably late, so I have an excuse!" Ursula shot back, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

After a couple seconds, Ursula chuckled and grabbed Ash's arm. "Come on Ash. It's party time!"

The two entered the dance hall and upon doing so, Ash immediately darted off to the snack section to load up on chips and soda. Ash got what he wanted plus some and went to the table where Ursula was sitting at.

"You aren't seriously going to eat all THAT are you?!" Ursula asked in shock.

"I might. I told you I was intent on getting some good eating going" Ash answered.

Ursula wasn't eating anything at first while Ash was eating haphazardly. After a moment though, Ursula began taking glances at the plate of chips as it was shrinking with every passing minute. After Ash ate half the plate and was going to grab more, he stopped short and saw that Ursula was beginning to munch away as well.

"Well, I guess someone is hungry after all" commented Ash.

"You're one to talk. At least I'm eating like a normal person" remarked Ursula with her mouth full. Ash tried to suppress a laugh, but failed.

"What's so funny?!" Ursula asked with a raised voice.

"I'm sorry, but it's just that you were talking while you were chewing, so no you weren't" answered Ash, still trying to suppress his laughter.

"I was NOT talking while chewing. That's gross!" Ursula lied.

"Yes you were"

"No I wasn't!"

"Were too"

"Was not!"

Their argument was interrupted when the deejay announced a popular jazz song that was about to play.

"Ha-ha! I love this song!" Ash yelled in excitement. "Come on, Ursula. Let's dance!"

Ursula followed him and the two began to dance. Ursula was dancing in motions that she felt were "correct" for the song while Ash was just dancing how he wanted to.

"Um, exactly what ARE you doing?" Ursula asked, placing her hands on her hips.

Ash put it simply. "I'm dancing! What are you doing?"

"Ash, if you aren't going to dance the way you're supposed to, then why even bother dancing?" Ursula asked while giggling.

"The point of these parties is to have fun!" Ash replied exuberantly.

"Whatever you say" was all Ursula could say.

The first song ended and an R&B/Dance song began to play. "Okay Ash. I want you to dance the way I'm dancing for this one. Do you think you can handle that?" Ursula questioned sarcastically.

"Oh, fine. Only for you though" Ash grumbled. Ursula blushed slightly at his response.

The first part of the song began and Ash watched as Ursula showed him the dance moves that he was going to try to follow. Ash attempted the moves during the second part, but wasn't very successful. He stumbled and/or tripped a few times. Ursula was still giggling. She thought it was funny, and not to mention cute that Ash was at least trying, but when others, mainly girls started watching him, she began to feel jealous of the attention he was getting and retreated back to her table.

After the song ended, Ash looked around and noticed that Ursula was back over at their table. He proceeded over and sat down next to her.

"How come you're not dancing anymore" Ash asked with slight concern.

After a few seconds, Ursula sighed and said "Your 'dancing' is getting all of the attention and you aren't even doing it right. I'm usually the life of the party here. Not to mention you have different girls looking at you and I'm…" Ursula stopped short after what she said and began to blush deeply. There was an awkward silence between the two for the next several minutes.

A song began to play on the jukebox and everyone began dancing excitably to this one. Ash got up and got back on the dance floor. Ursula watched in silence as everyone was dancing. Everyone seemed to just be dancing how they wanted to for this song. As the song continued, Ursula began to feel lonely until finally, she got back on the dance floor.

"Ursula! You came back" Ash shouted happily. Ursula slowly began to just let her body move and as the song was getting closer to its end, she progressively began to have fun. Her enjoyment grew as the song was finishing its last notes.

"Well, it seems like someone is beginning to enjoy themselves now" Ash commented.

"I have to admit Ash, this actually isn't so bad" agreed Ursula.

The song ended and a song began that sounded strangely familiar to Ursula. When they played this song, everyone was pretty much just jumping around and having a blast. Both Ash and Ursula could feel the energy in the room rising and as the song was playing, they had both begun to enjoy themselves so much that some people actually backed up and were having fun simply watching the two shake it out.

"What do you think Ursula; you having fun now?" Ash said, as he spun Ursula.

"Are you kidding? This is freaking awesome!" Ursula exclaimed.

Ursula was now lost in a world of enjoyment she had not felt before, but as she continued dancing, Ash began to notice that one of her twin-spiral pigtails was beginning to come apart.

"Um, Ursula? URSULA!" Ash shouted.

"Huh? What?" Ursula finally stopped and asked, but it became clear when she looked down and found one of her purple hairties on the floor.

"Oh my Arceus!" she yelled. "Um, would you excuse me for just a moment" She picked up her hairtie and bolted off to the bathroom. She was frantically looking around trying to find the bathroom before someone else noticed her hair the way it was.

Ursula eventually found the bathroom and after crying for about 10 minutes, she began fixing her hair again. She wound up staying in there for a while. While she was fixing her hair, she began to think about the scene. She was definitely embarrassed about what happened, but after a few more minutes, she began to instead, think about the fun she was having. It was nothing like what she had felt before at any of the other parties she went to.

It was also the first time she went _with_ somebody. With somebody she had a crush on_ and _was warming up to as well. She was having fun with this guy and he seemed to be having fun as well.

She finally decided to swallow her pride for a little while, not worry about it anymore, and go have fun again. The night was still young. She left the bathroom and went to go find Ash who was located in a lounge chair near the gaming room.

"Hey Ursula. Are you okay?" Ash asked with genuine concern.

"I'm fine now" Ursula replied.

"I'm sorry about what happened. I guess we both got a little crazy in there" Ash said while rubbing the back of his neck.

"What are you talking about?" Ursula asked. Ash gave Ursula a confused look. "Yes, I was humiliated there and didn't want to come out of the bathroom for a while, but eventually I began to realize how much fun we were having"

"Really?" Ash asked, his spirits being raised.

"Yes, and if you don't mind, this beautiful coordinator would like to go have more fun. You think you can put up with me a little longer?" Ursula questioned while winking.

"You bet I can" Ash replied, raising a fist in pride.

"Then let's go" Ursula said, locking Ash's arm with hers. Ash blushed a bit in response to this, but he didn't pull away.

* * *

After about one more hour of dancing and eating, the two of them were breathless and ready to call it a night. They stepped outside and walked to the road.

"Wow. Tonight turned out to be quite the night. Whew!" Ash said while rubbing his forehead.

"You're telling me. I was afraid my hair would get messed up again. I feel sorry for you" Ursula said while giggling. Ash's hair had become a major mess that prompted a few giggles from some of the other partiers.

"Hey, I usually wear a hat anyway, so the way my hair looks isn't that big of a concern to me" Ash replied. The two of them both shared a laugh. Ursula enjoyed how Ash always liked to look at the positives.

They stood still for a moment before Ash broke the silence. "Well, it's late. I guess I should get going. I'm going to sleep like a Snorlax tonight" Ursula chuckled again at his joke.

"Hey um, Ash?" Ursula spoke up after a few seconds, blushing slightly. "Any chance we could...go out again sometime?"

"You bet!" Ash answered with a smile, although he was blushing a bit also.

"Then let me see your cell phone so I can put my number in" Ursula requested. Ash obliged and the two of them exchanged phone numbers with each other.

"Just let me know when you want to hang out again. I think I'm going to take a break from coordinating and just relax and enjoy myself" Ursula said.

"I will. Have a good night" Ash replied.

"You too Ash" Ursula said, but not until after she gave Ash a quick peck on the cheek, leaving Ash blushing furiously. Ursula giggled once more and then began to walk away.

Ash watched Ursula as she disappeared into the night. He was still blushing, but he was also smiling as he put his finger where Ursula had kissed him. Ursula may be at odds with Dawn, but when it came to Ash, she seemed to have a totally different feeling toward him.

Back at the Pokemon center, Ash began to think again about his journeys. Again, he enjoyed his journeys, but right now, he was quite content with his little vacation. He was growing up now and he felt it was time to do things a little bit differently. With Ursula on his mind now, he decided he wasn't going anywhere for a while. He was going to just let loose and have some fun, whether it'd be with his Pokemon pals or with Ursula.

The same could be said about Ursula as well.

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**I went overboard with that last one-shot, but I know I did better this time. Thank you for reading!**


End file.
